The Alcohol & Gambling Licensing Sub-Committee of West Northamptonshire Council was scheduled to meet on 2 September 2025, to discuss several agenda items. The meeting was scheduled to be held remotely via Zoom. The agenda included the appointment of a chair, declarations of interest, and the exclusion of press and public for certain items.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The agenda for the meeting of the Alcohol & Gambling Licensing Sub-Committee included a standard item regarding the exclusion of the press and public. The Agenda frontsheet stated that certain reports contained exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972¹. The committee was to decide whether to consider each item in private or in public, balancing the interests of individuals or the council against the public interest in disclosing the information. The Agenda frontsheet included a recommendation:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that, if the public and press were present, it would be likely that exempt information falling under the provisions of Schedule 12A, Part I, Paragraph(s) XXXXX would be disclosed to them, and that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Restricted Documents

The Public reports pack indicates that several documents were restricted due to Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. These included agenda item 4, and pages 11 and 21 of the report pack.